Disgorging

The various Cuvées are tasted regularly by Antoine Malassagne and the oenologist to keep an eye on their development, appreciate their maturity and give the go-ahead for them to be sold, whenever appropriate.

After several years of ageing, it is time for riddling and disgorging : the bottle is placed at an angle on a wooden stand, with the neck pointing downwards, and it is turned regularly so that the deposits are concentrated in the neck. This operation is still carried out by hand for the old vintages and the special cuvees. For the other products, the riddling is performed automatically on rotating pallets. After freezing the neck of the bottle, it is opened. Under the effect of the pressure inside, the deposit and some of the wine are ejected.
The liquid lost with the deposit is replaced by a "dosage" - a mixture of sugar and Champagne. Depending on the dose of sugar, the Champagne produced will be extra-brut, brut, demi-sec or doux.

The AR Lenoble Champagne House has opted for ageing its wines over particularly long periods and therefore allows to add a very light"dosage" to them (half the amount usually added).
The resulting champagnes are fresher, purer and more delicate.

There is then a series of operations to finish the presentation of the bottles: first of all, a cork is inserted, held firmly in place by a wire-cap capable of withstanding the pressure inside. Next, the bottle is shaken to make sure that the wine and dosage are evenly mixed and then it is washed and dried. That just leaves the packing in cases and the bottle is ready for sale. Before leaving the estate, however, it will be kept for another 3 to 4 months to give the wine time to settle down and become ready for tasting, after the shock of disgorging.